Rail-joint.



OLIVER H. COURSON, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

Application filed. October 17, 1911. Serial No. 655,182.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER H. COURSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in railjoints or devices for securing railroad rails in position, the samehaving for its objects among others to provide a simple and eflicientmeans for fastening the rails at the joint, with means for adjustment ofone or both of the'opposite fish plates lengthwise of therail so as tosecurely grip the rail and form a clamp therefor and at the same timegrip the rail and tie together with such pressure as to prevent allspreading of the rails, yet permitting of ready removal when desired forreplacement of the rail or for any other desired purpose.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a chair having at opposite endsinwardly extending slots the outer side walls of which are tapered andinclined inwardly forming wedges or cam surfaces, the fishplates havingportions designed to engage in said slots, the construction being suchthat when the fish plates at opposite ends of the chair are drawn towardeach other they are also drawn inwardly toward the rail so as to morefirmly clamp the same. Furthermore I provide a spike having a passagetherethrough adapted to receive the means which connect the fish platesupon opposite sides of the joint and by which the two fish plates uponone side of the rail are drawn the one toward the other.

Other objects and advantages of'the invention will hereinafter appear,and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

The invention is capable of embodiment in a variety of forms, theessential one of which is herein illustrated.

The invention in such preferred form is clearly illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, which, with the numerals of reference markedthereon, form a part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a detailed perspective view of the chair showing the railstherein, one of the latter being shown in cross section; Fig. 2 is a topplan of the chair; Fig. 3 is an end view of one of the fish plates on asmaller scale; Fig. 4 is a perspective detail of the spike with aportion broken away.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

Referring to the drawings-1 designates a tie and 2, 2 portions of theadjacent ends of adjoining rails, these latter being of any of theconventional forms.

3 is the chair adapted to receive and support the ends of such rails,and as will be seen upon reference to Fig. 2, this chair is formed ateach end with two slots 4:, 4 extending longitudinally thereof from theends inwardly, each slot having its side walls out of parallelism withthe longitudinal central line through the chair so that the outer walls5 of said slots will taper inwardly forming a wedge or cam surface for apurpose which will soon be made apparent. This chair is shown in Fig. 2as provided with spike openings 6, which, however, may be omitted undersome circumstances.

7 are the fish plates, and as they are all alike a detailed descriptionof one will suffice for all. Each fish plate comprises a body portionhaving the upwardly extending part 8 adapted to. engage the web of therail and preferably beneath the under face of the tread thereof as seenin Fig. 1, a projecting portion '9 adapted to have a flat bearing uponthe upper face of the chair 3, and a depending portion 10 adapted to bereceived in the corresponding slot 4 of the chair. The inter-engaging orinterlocking portions of the chair and fish plate may be varied.Thewalls of the slot may be under-cut and the side walls of thedepending portion 10 correspondingly inclined so as to form a dovetailedconnection, or the depending portion 10 of the fish plate may beshouldered as seen at 11 so as to engage upon the under side of theopposite walls of the slot as seen clearly in Fig. 1, the object beingto prevent vertical displacement of the fish plate. It will thus beevident that when the fish plates are put in position upon oppositesides of the rails, if the fish plates are moved in wardly in the slotsthe inclined outer walls 5 of such slots will necessarily force the fishplates inwardly toward the rail so that the latter will be firmlygripped and clamped thereby.

Any suitable means may be provided for drawing or forcing the fishplates inwardly. They may be driven in and held in any convenient mannerbut in the present instance I have chosen to show an elficient means forholding the fish plates in position as well as for forcing them inwardlywhen desired. For this purpose I provide each fish plate with alongitudinal opening 12 for the re ception of a rod 13, which extendslengthwise of the rail and through the coincident holes in the two fishplates at opposite ends of the chair. This rod is provided at one endwith a head or the like 14, or any suitable means to-form a shoulderadapted to bear against the outer end of the fish plate, the other endbeing screw-threaded as seen at 15 and adapted either to receive a nutor to have threaded engagement with interior threads 16 in the opening12 of the adjacent fish plate. It will thus be apparent that by thismeans the two fish plates at the opposite ends of the rod are not onlysecurely bound together but may be drawn toward each other by propermanipulation of the nut or rod as the case may be.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated how I may employ a spike in connection withthe means above described, the spike 17 being provided with an opening18 in the head portion thereof, which is adapted to receive the rod 13as seen in Fig. 1, the spike being designed to be driven through theopening 6 in the chair and into the tie l, as seen in Fig. 1. It will beobserved that the slots 4, are of uniform width from end to end, andthat the depending portions 10 of the fish plates are also of a uniformwidth from end to end. It is therefore apparent that, when the fishplates are drawn or forced inwardly, they will be caused by the inwardconvergence of the slots 4 to move toward the rail at the same time, andwill grip said rail after the manner of a vise.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that I have devised a simple andeificient form of means for fastening the adjacent ends of railroadrails in place, and while the structural embodiment of the invention, asherein disclosed, is what I at the present time consider preferable, itis evident that the same is subject to changes, variations andmodifications in detail without departing from the spirit of theinvention or sacrificing any of its advantages. I therefore do not wishto restrict myself to the details of construction hereinbefore disclosedbut reserve the right to make such changes, variations and modificationsin the form, proportion of parts, etc., as come properly within thescope of the protection prayed.

hat is claimed as new is 1. A rail joint embodying a substantially fiatchair having a slot independent of the rail engaging members withinwardly inclined outer walls, and a fish plate having a portion forcooperation with said slot.

2. A rail joint comprising a chair having oppositely extending slots atits ends, the outer wall of each slot being inclined and a fish plateindependent of said chair and having a port-ion for cooperation with oneof said slots, and means for preventing vertical displacement of thefish plate.

3. A rail joint comprising a substantially fiat chair having inwardlyextending slots at each end with the outer walls of said slots inclinedinwardly, fish plates having portions engaging and projecting throughsaid slots and means for drawing the fish plates longitudinally.

4. A rail joint comprising a substantially flat chair having inwardlyextending slots at each end with the outer walls of said slots inclinedinwardly, fish plates having portions engaging and projecting throughsaid slots and screw means for drawing the fish plates longitudinally.

5. A rail joint comprising a substantially fiat chair having inwardlyextending slots at each end, fish plates having portions engaging andprojecting through said slots and means connecting the fish plates atopposite ends of the chair for moving them lengthwise of the chair andinwardly toward a rail.

6. A rail joint comprising a substantially fiat chair with slots at itsend, said slots having inwardly converging outer walls fish plateshaving portions engaging and projecting through said slots and means forpreventing vertical displacement of the fish plates, and means formoving the fish plates lengthwise of the chair and sin'iultaneouslydrawing them inwardly toward the rail.

7. In a rail joint the combination with a chair of substantially fiatform having oppositely extending slots at its ends the outer wall ofeach slot being inclined, fish plates having portions extending throughand e11- gaging in said slots, a spike interposed between the fishplates on one side of the rail, and means extending longitudinally ofthe fish plates, through the same and through an opening in the spikefor drawing the fish plates toward each other.

8. In a rail joint the combination with a chair of substantially flatform having op- 9. In a rail joint the combination with a chair, fishplates, and means for connecting 15 the latter and drawing them towardeach other and inwardly toward a rail, of a spike having an opening forthe passage of said means.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature 20 in presence of twowitnesses.

OLIVER H. COURSON.

Witnesses:

A. M. BUNN, M. K. FREEMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

